THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3
FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015
Business & Ag
Baker’s FFA Ag Issues team places
in top six at state competition
— Weekly Hay Report —
Friday, March 27, 2015 — Eastern Oregon
Prices trended generally steady compared to the
same quality last week. Trade activity and demand
increased this week. The continued good weather in
several areas of Oregon has slowed down demand,
as pasture grasses are growing causing end users to
be able to turn animals out on pasture rather than
purchase and feed additional hay. Few containers
available at the shipping ports has slowed down the
ability to export hay overseas. Several producers
have sold all that they plan to sell for this season.
Alfalfa- Large Square/Good, 1,000 tons, $150 avg.
Triticale - Large Square/Good, 56 tons, $125 avg.
USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov
— Cattle Market Report —
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Vale, Oregon
Cattle sold through the auction: 638
Chuck Buchanan / The Baker County Press
Baker FFA Ag Issues team, left to right: Taylor Hawes, Kylie Skidgel, Ashlee Brinton, Hannah Oliver, Chris-
tian Oliver, and Robie Davis.
By Chuck Buchanan
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Silverton High School
in Silverton, Oregon was
the site of the 87th Annual
Oregon FFA State Conven-
tion held March 20-23rd,
2015.
FFA, also known as Fu-
ture Farmers of America, is
an organization that today
rewards students for their
efforts in diversified field
ranging from Ag Sales
and Ag Communications
to Parliamentary Proce-
dures and Prepared Public
Speaking to Livestock Pro-
duction Entrepreneurship.
Each year on the week-
end before spring break,
Oregon FFA gathers at a
different venue to cel-
ebrate the achievements
of its members during that
school year.
Thirty-five members
of the Baker FFA chapter,
accompanied by parent
chaperones and Ag instruc-
tor Seth Bingham, traveled
to Silverton to participate
in this year’s convention.
Five members, Kylie
Skidgel, Robie Davis,
Morgan Scilacci, Carley
Johnson and Melissa Foltz
received their State FFA
Degrees, the second high-
est degree awarded in FFA.
State Degree recipients
must keep accurate records
of income and expenses re-
lating to whatever projects
they may be involved in
as well as accomplishing a
long list of other require-
ments. These five students
are to be congratulated for
their hard work and dedi-
cation to FFA.
Six of those traveling
to Convention made up the
Baker FFA Ag Issues team.
The team was accompa-
nied by their coach, Chuck
Buchanan.
Ag Issues is what is
known as a CDE, or Career
Development Event.
The team is required to
research an issue that is
important to agriculture
then produce a fifteen
minute skit or presentation
showing the pros and cons
of that issue as it relates to
modern agriculture.
Baker’s topic was titled
“To Graze or Not to Graze:
Mob Grazing As a Tool to
Combat Desertification”
and was presented using a
Star Wars theme.
During this presenta-
tion, the actors discussed
the various aspects of the
ongoing process of the
degradation, or desertific -
tion, of agricultural lands
around the world due to
a number of mitigating
factors.
Mob grazing, or holistic
grazing as it is also known,
is a system of concentrated
grazing of small pastures
in a rotation and has been
touted by scientists in a
number of countries as a
potential cure for desertifi-
cation. The team’s presen-
tation discussed the pros
and cons of mob grazing.
The State Ag Issues
competition was held in
two sessions. In the first
session, which took place
on Friday March 20th,
teams from across the state
were divided up into flights
of three or four teams.
Eleven teams in three
flights competed at this
year’s Convention. Two
teams from each flight
were chosen to go to the
final competition based on
their presentation and on a
written portfolio turned in
before the competition.
Baker FFA’s Ag Issues
team competed in the final
on Sunday, March 22nd
as one of the top six but
failed to place in the top
four, which are awarded
banners.
The top team, made
up of members of the
Sandy FFA Chapter, won
the competition and will
represent Oregon at the
National FFA Convention
in October.
Heifer Calves
300-400# Bulk N/A Top N/A
400-500# Bulk 250.00-275.00 Top 288.00
500-600# Bulk 230.00-255.00 Top 260.50
Yearling Steers
600-700# Bulk 230.00-248.00 Top 251.00
700-800# Bulk 205.00-223.00 Top 228.00
800-900# Bulk 185.00-197.00 Top 204.75
900-1,000# Bulk 170.00-185.00 Top 195.50
Yearling Heifers
600-700# Bulk 205.00-225.00 Top 230.00
700-800# Bulk 200.00-206.00 Top 210.00
800-900# Bulk N/A Top N/A
900-1,000# Bulk N/A Top N/A
Thin Shelly Cows 75.00-90.00
Butcher Cows 91.00-104.00
Butcher Bulls 105.00-120.00
Stock Cows 1200.00-2200.00
Younger Hfrts. 125.00 top
Stock Cows Yng. - N/A
ProducersLivestock.com
541-473-3136
— Log Price Report —
Program offers sage grouse habitat
protection on private property
By Brian Addison
Brian@TheBakerCountyPress.com
A decision from US Fish
and Wildlife on whether
to list Greater sage-grouse
as a federally recognized
endangered species is
expected in September of
this year and land owners
and agricultural produc-
ers in Baker County have
been offered a Candidate
Conservation Agreement
with Assurances (CCAA)
to protect against impacts
should the bird be listed.
“Baker County has re-
cently signed a Candidate
Conservation Agreement
with Assurances with US
Fish and Wildlife Service.
The main goal of the
CCAA program is to assist
landowners in preparing
their land for the possible
land use regulations that
would come with listing
the sage grouse,” accord-
ing to a press release from
Baker County Soil and Wa-
ter Conservation Districts.
“Some land owners and
different agency people
have compared the poten-
tial impact to the ag indus-
try if the sage-grouse is
listed to impacts felt by the
timber industry when the
spotted owl was listed,”
said Whitney Collins,
district manager of Baker
County Soil and Water
Conservation District.
The CCAA works as an
“insurance policy for land
Steer Calves
300-400# Bulk N/A Top N/A
400-500# Bulk 285.00-330.00 Top 333.00
500-600# Bulk 260.00-292.00 Top 297.00
Price per 1,000 board feet: Northeast Oregon
Delivered to Elgin
Doug Fir / Larch 6”+ $370/m
White Fir/Sp 6”+ $380/m
LPP 6”+ $350/m
Delivered to La Grande
P. Pine 6-11” $290/m
12-17” $340/m
18-23” $390/m
24’+ $420/m
Delivered to Pilot Rock
12-17” $390/m
18-23” $440/m
24’+ $480/m
Photo Courtesy of USFWS
The Greater sage-grouse’s listing as an endangered species will happen—or
not—this September.
owners if the sage-grouse
“A lot of landowners are
violation of sage-grouse
is listed,” said Collins.
already doing this stuff
habitat protection regula-
Landowners who choose
and they just need to get
tions and the imposition of
to sign a CCAA with the
it down on paper,” Collins
large fines
Soil and Water Conserva-
said.
Baker County Soil
tion District enter into a
“Once a CCAA has been
and Water Conservation
30-year agreement requir-
signed, if a complaint
Districts, serving Baker
ing them to implement
arises against a landowner, Valley, Burnt River, Keat-
conservation strategies on
the US Fish and Wildlife
ing and Eagle valleys, have
their land to protect sage-
Service would call the Soil scheduled an informational
grouse habitat, according
and Water Conservation
meeting for landowners
to Collins. The CCAA
District, and then we’d call interested in the CCAA
documents the habitat con- the landowner,” Collins
program. Speakers include
servation plan and, as long
explained.
representatives from
as the landowner remains
Once a complaint has
the United States Forest
within the plan, protects
been made, it would then
Service, Baker County Soil
the landowner from com-
be determined whether
and Water Conservation
plaints.
the complaint was valid
Districts, and the Baker
Landowners entering into based on the plan in place
County Board of Commis-
the private CCAA work
through the CCAA. If it is
sioners.
with the Soil and Water
determined that the land
The informational meet-
Conservation Districts to
owner is operating within
ing will be held on Thurs-
draw a reasonable plan to
the CCAA plan and pro-
day, April 9 from 6 p.m. to
address sage-grouse habitat viding the habitat protec-
8 p.m. at the Oregon Trail
protection on their land
tions outlined in the CCAA Electric Cooperative meet-
and within their operations, plan, that landowner is
ing room, located at 4005
according to Collins.
protected against being in
23rd Street.
Delivered pulp
$28/ton to Elgin
$28/ton to La Grande
Courtesy of Arvid Andersen,
Andersen Forestry Consulting
— Precious Metals Report —
Price per ounce, USD
Gold: $1184.20
Silver: $16.58
Platinum: $1,142.25
Palladium: $734.85
Bloomberg.com
— Ag Commodities —
Corn: $377.50/bu/USD
Wheat: $512.50/bu/USD
Soybeans: $968.00/bu/USD
Oats: $267.00 bu/USD
Rough Rice: $11.02/cwt/USD
Canola: $454.50 CAD/mwt
Live Cattle: $152.55/lb./USD
Feeder Cattle: $217.05/lb./USD
Lean Hogs: $76.55/lb./USD
Bloomberg.com